


Under Cover

by The_Cookie_Thief



Category: Spies In Disguise (2019)
Genre: Attempted Kidnapping, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Protective Lance, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Sharing a Bed, This was a good movie and you know it, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:01:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29529564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Cookie_Thief/pseuds/The_Cookie_Thief
Summary: Ever since the Killian Mission, Lance has been a little on edge when it comes to Walter going on missions without him. Does he think he is unqualified or weak? No. He is just worried for him. He cares. But Walter doesn't know that. So what happens when he and Marcy come up with a mission that will most likely put him directly in harms way? And what happens when, yeah, the mission does go wrong? Guess we'll see...
Relationships: Walter Beckett/Lance Sterling
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

  
“Absolutely not!” Lance shook his head, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter.

“What? Lance you can’t just-“

“Can’t what?” He stands now, getting agitated with the argument. “Can’t make sure you are safe? Make sure you don’t go on a reckless mission that could result in-“ he cuts himself off, not sure how to finish the sentence but also knowing anything he could come up with would be a worse case scenario. He steddies Walter with a serious look, eyebrows furrowed. “We don’t know much about this guy and I don’t think it would be safe for you to go into this alone. So you aren’t going.” Walter has had it at this point. It’s been happening ever since that first mission. Lance being either too protective or too worried when he gets hurt. It’s been worse lately though. They’ve been doing this for almost a year now and Lance still doesn’t trust him. He returns Lance’s gaze with an angry one and ends up in his space now, finger jabbing into his chest.

“I can’t help that you don’t trust me. I don’t get it. I don’t think I ever will. But you can’t keep me held up at the lab or only letting me go into missions fit for a third grader. I am almost twenty one years old. I can look out for myself and most certainly don’t need you to babysit me.” And with a final huff he walks for the door, grabbing his tablet and bag off the metal lab table as he goes. “I’m taking the damn mission. Don’t touch that vial on the counter and don’t forget to lock up when you decide to leave.” He mutters without looking back.

He almost regrets his words. Almost. Lance cannot keep doing this to him. All he ever does is hold him back. Keep him from doing his job. The only time he actually let Walter take the reins was the Killian mission and after that, he treated him like someone that needed to be protected. Which is just ridiculous. Honestly, he might not be as big or strong as Lance but heaven forbid if he can’t take someone twice his size down. A few training sessions have proven that. When the flock would all gather in the holographic simulator to lay out certain game plans and they had fellow agents serve as villains, he proved he could take them down quite a few times. So why would Lance keep acting like this? Whatever. He will worry about it later.

The halls of the agency aren’t as crowded today as they have been lately, which is a small relief as he takes a calming breath and adjusts his bag strap. Before long, he’s in the director’s office, nervously shuffling his feet before he is let into the room. She is sitting in her chair with another agent to her left. When Walter steps in, they close the files in front of them and she focuses her attention on him. He clears his throat.

“Hi, Director Jenkins,” he starts awkwardly, “so we were working on the case of that Mafia boss Uh… Carmike. Yeah. Carmike. So anyway, I was tracking the last few places his goons had been seen, we did check for the tattoos so we are sure, and one of them left his cell phone behind at this butcher’s place, real smart guy, anyway, I was able to-“ she holds up her hand.

“Walter.”

“Yeah?”

“Breathe.” She says with a small smile. No matter how many times they have done this, he always stresses about updating her about their cases. Of course it didn’t help him that Lance decided to upset him right before he had to come up here with the info either. He nods and breaths in, then out. “Now continue. You can skip some of the details, if you want.” He nods again.

“Right. Anyway. I was able to track one of the places he’s been visiting frequently and there’s this club.” He trails, hesitant. She gestures for him to continue and he walks over to one of the monitors on the wall. He unlocks his tablet and links an image and a few other things onto the screen. Maps, newspaper articles and lists of names fill the screen and he looks back to her to make sure she is still listening. “This is The Red Rock. It’s got kind of a hotel situation on the second floor but the first floor is a club. Uhm…” he’s hesitating again but continues, “Marcy and I kind of made a plan to secure the location of his safe house, where he is most likely keeping his merchandise.”

“You kind of made a plan?” She repeats as a question. “Alright. Let’s hear it.” She nods to him and he turns back to the screen, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So, we were thinking of a sort of undercover, close contact mission. Like, close close.” His face tints slightly and now he feels ridiculous. There has to be other ways to do this but this seemed the most straightforward they could come up with. “He should be there tomorrow if pattern is anything go by.” He chances a glance back at her and she nods, crossing her arms.

“Alright. And I assume the plan has something to do with that truth spray of yours?” She asks and he nods. He affirms and she turns to the other agent in the room. “Alright. Agent Allen, you are dismissed. You can report down to the lab to get what you need.” The man stands and leaves and the director turns back to Walter. “You three are approved for the mission. Have Agent Kappel get ready for her date and have Ster-“

“Uhm actually.” He interrupts. She raises an eyebrow at him and he goes red again. “Well you see, the thing is. Wow, this is harder than I thought-“ he cuts himself off before he can ramble again. “This guy… has a type.” He pulls his tablet close to his chest and gives her another hesitant look. “The club is- the reason I am the one-“ unable to figure out how to say this he sighs. “I… would be… undercover for this one.” His face is full on red now and Joy raises both of her brows in surprise.

“Are you sure about this?” She finally asks. He uncomfortably looks away, files on the screen seaming interesting again. He nods. “Because if you aren’t sure we could send someone else in. I’m sure Agent Wright or Anderson could be brought in. Heck I’m sure Sterling would even-“

“No! No. There’s no need to- like I said. Guy has a type.” He gestures to himself and sighs, running a hand through his already messy hair. “And, I couldn’t ask anyone to go in my place. Not on something like this. I’m pretty sure I could- I’m uh… wow. Okay. Bandaid. Just rip it off.” He mutters to himself for a moment before looking back up at her. “I believe I would be… a better fit for this assignment… because I am… I mean I…” he trails off, trying to think of how to say this. He closed his eyes, hoping it helps.

This is the first time since coming to the agency that he would actually be telling anybody. Lance doesn’t even know. Something he feels guilty about a lot. He thinks Marcy might know. The two of them spending a good amount of time planning out missions, the amount of times he’s been caught staring at Lance when his shirt lifts just that little bit or the panic and flushed face he gains when Lance forgets personal space is a thing. Yeah. Marcy definitely knows. She never mentions it though. It’s a good relief for him, to know she’s waiting until he’s ready to bring it up. He jumps when the director places a hand on his shoulder. His eyes slip open as she levels him with a look. It’s soft and he can tell she knows what he’s trying to say and it is okay. He is okay. A breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding escapes him.

“Only do this if you are comfortable with it. Not just because you feel obligated. One word and the mission is off. Okay?” He nods, finally looking back to the information on the screen.

“Y-yeah. Okay.” He pauses for a moment. “This mean we are clear for the mission?” She nods and he grins, looking down at his tablet to pull everything back off the screen.

“You will meet with Lideah in the lab. She has been working on a few new wardrobe gadgets. Let her know what kind of clothes you need and start packing. I assume Marcy will be on the case with you since you both came up with this, but Sterling has to be on the case too. When it comes down to it, he will have your back.” He is a little more hesitant now as he tucks the tablet close to his chest again.

“W-well you see… he isn’t so keen about this. Hates it actually.” She nods in understanding and crosses her arms.

“Just leave him to me. When it comes down to it, he’ll have your back. Believe me.” He nods and starts for the door. “Oh and Walter. Is there anyone else who knows? Or is the information you’ve given me classified?” She isn’t talking about the mission now. He turns and gives her a thankful smile.

“No uh. You are actually the first person I’ve told. Though I think Marcy knows. And obviously Lovey knows, us being roommates for so long. But she’s been doing good on not telling Lance or the rest of the flock so…” she nods.

“Alright. Classified. Now, go get ready. Send Sterling, Kappel, and Chip up and I will brief them. Could you send everything you have? You can all catch up on the jet ride there and I will have accommodations paid for near the club.” Near the club. So they won’t be staying in the hotel above. Makes sense. No telling who is actually staying up there and if anyone there works for this guy. He confirms and heads out the door, calling his team in a group call on his watch. Before either of them can greet him (or before Lance can protest) he speaks.

“Hey guys. No time to chat. Jenkins needs you three up here ASAP. I’ll meet up with you guys on the plane. We got the go ahead. Also, could you bring the flock? We will want some extra surveillance. In a hurry gotta go!” He smacks his hand over the screen of the watch, effectively hanging up right as he hears Lance take a breath to speak. He will have to deal with that later. For now, he’s got a mission to get ready for.

-<•>-<•>-<•>-<•>-<•>-

This could not be any more awkward. Walter mindlessly scrolls down the posts on his feed for what could possibly be the millionth time before closing whatever social media he’s been pretending to check and opens candy crush. Again. He hasn’t been able to beat this level yet, Lance’s stare throwing him off his concentration, but he’s optimistic. Maybe he will be able to focus. Though, his leg is still bouncing and now he is chewing on his thumb nail. He forces himself to stop there. He ruins his nails now and he will have to wear press-ons later and he knows those are more uncomfortable then just nail polish. When he sees that he has lost once again, he throws his head back in frustration.

“Ugh! Alright! Just. Say something because God this is uncomfy!” Lance just raises an eyebrow. And man is he not annoying. Mister sit in silence with crossed arms and his stupid “I’m upset and disappointed in you”look. Walter can’t take this anymore. Lance makes no move to talk and now Walter is standing, pacing. “Look. I get it, you’re mad at me. But we have a job to do and I’m trying alright? This is the fastest thing we could come up with and this guy has a shipment going out next week. And- and don’t give me that lecture about somebody else doing this because. Because it was my idea and I can’t just- I can’t make someone else do this you know? And- I know I yelled at you earlier and I’m sorry but sometimes you’re just- just- ugh! You know?” He turns fully to Lance now who has relaxed a little. After a mini staring contest, Lance sighs, shaking his head.

“No Walter. I don’t know. I don’t get why you are so hung up on this whole going out on the field thing, but I guess I can drop it for now. But if it’s that touchy of a subject… I suppose it could wait until after the mission. Okay?” Walter finally relaxes with a sigh before sitting back down. “Now. Is there anything else I should know about this mission? Because telling me you are going to hit on a crime boss to get intel isn’t a whole lot to go off of.”

Walter sighs. Yeah, he almost forgot. There is more to the plan. He sits up and picks up his tablet and connects it to the flat screen across from them and pulls up a floor plan of the club. He then starts explaining. Walter and Marcy are to enter the club together. They are having a “girls night out” for his birthday. He gets a fake ID and everything. Which seems a bit unnecessary since his birthday is in a month but they might not let him in the club otherwise. At some point Walter will get ditched by Marcy who goes off with a random guy.

“So where will I be?” Lance asks. He is a little antsy now. If he can’t get in in time if anything goes wrong…

“Yeah. You aren’t gonna like this next part.” Marcy mutters, though she sounds ready to handle the impending storm. “Your face is too well known in the underground community, hot shot. Yeah you’ve been able to do under cover lately but haven’t you noticed that almost all of them involved you having to shapeshift?” They started using that word around their third mission after a small argument between the three of them on what to call the transforming process. Chip surprisingly won after they used one of those wheel spinning sites.

“Ugh. Don’t tell me. I’m gonna be…”

“Running surveillance in the van with Chip.” Walter finishes, referring to their new addition to the team, or “flock” as Walter likes to call it. Lance looks over to the blond who waves back with a knowing grin. Yeah he knows Lance doesn’t like him. Does he care? No. Does he try his hardest to pester Lance every chance he gets? Totally. Lance rolls his eyes.

“Great. Sitting in a van with Man Bun for hours on end? No way is this gonna end badly.” Chip chuckles, shaking his head and waving a hand.

“No dude. I promise I will behave. Also, it’s Edwards to you.” Lance knows this is a trap. Knows he’s worded his statement specifically for him to retort. He sighs mentally and walks into it anyway.

“Why does Walter get to call you Chip and I can’t?” He asks and regrets it immediately. Chip grins and gives Walter a once over, feigning interest. So, Chip may know something that he isn’t telling the others. He might have noticed the way Lance stares at Walter as he starts talking about his latest invention, or how disappointed he looks when Walter intentionally sits a whole cushion away from him on the couch when they have flock movie nights. He might see how Lance wears certain shirts when he works out and checks to see if Walter is watching him. Yeah. He knows. So he’s pushing it. He has officially made it his personal mission to piss Lance Sterling off so bad that he loses his cool and finally does something about it.

“Walter can call me whatever he wants any time.” He says while staring Lance in the eyes. He is challenging him. Waiting. Lance cares about Walter, so he should do something about it. Say something. Instead, Lance just balls up his fists and a second later, relaxes with a resigned sigh.

“You know what? No, I'm not falling for it. I knew it was a trap and I walked into it and I am not letting you get to me. Walter and I are both leaders of the flock and if he can call you Chip, so can I.” Wow. He’s playing the deflection card now? Of course because why else would Lance be acting jealous? Gotta keep up the act to make sure Walter doesn’t notice. Chip sighs internally. These two are hopeless.

“Edwards, why didn’t you tell me before that you didn’t wanna go by Chip? If you had told me I would have stopped. Lance is right. As co-leaders of the flock we should be on the same page here.” He actually seems concerned and Chip and Marcy have to give each other a look. They are both so over this. There is no way two people could be so clueless. He looks back to Walter with a smile.

“I was just kidding Walter, really. It’s just too easy to annoy Lance. I’ll chill though. Continue with the plan.” He waves forward in a “go on” motion.

“Right…” Walter clears his throat and looks back up to the screen, drawing on his tablet without looking down at his hands. He draws a circle a few buildings down on the side of the street. “So, you two will be in the van. Which will be a supply van for this antique shop. We will have Lovey, Crazy Eyes, and Fanboy located here, here, and here,” he circles a few points around the outside of the building, “Lovey will be situated on the second floor at the hall window. He usually rents a room upstairs for the night so if we end up upstairs… yeah.” He trails off, spacing a little at the idea. If this goes as planned, they should head upstairs. He needs the guy alone so when he uses the truth serum he doesn’t get caught and nobody around freaks out. This has to work. Right? He shakes his head to clear his thoughts, “Uh-uhm. Anyway… Crazy Eyes will be perched at the small window above the front door to see inside the club and Fanboy has the back door into the alley covered. If all goes as planned, once we get into the room, all I have to do is spray him with the truth spray and tada. All exact locations of highly dangerous military grade weapons.”

He almost seems proud of himself. The mission hasn’t even started yet and he’s already celebrating in his head over the inevitable win. At least he isn’t completely flipping his shit with nerves though. Marcy gives him a little clap. And he bows dramatically.

“Thank you. Thank you.” He grins at her. “Seriously though. When this is done, don’t you dare give me all the credit. If you hadn’t watched those hours of security footage of the shop next door, we never would have known about our way to get close so,” he starts clapping for her too as she bows in return. They really were the best plan makers. Lance on the other hand…

“I’m gonna get a drink.” He walks over to the mini bar and starts making a martini. Walter walks over a few seconds later.

“Can I-“

“No.” He knows what he’s going to ask. He tried this last week. There is no way Lance is letting him drink under his watch. Not until the mission he guesses. Walter wines dramatically.

“Aaawwe come on. I’ll be twenty one in like, a month. I can’t just have a little drink?” He begs. Lance just gives him a look.

“Yes I remember. You mentioned it earlier when you blew up on me about this, and I quote, “damn mission”,” he stops what he’s doing to make air quotes. Marcy sputters in surprise.

“Walter cussed?” She peeks over the back of her seat to look at them both. “Wow, pigeon brain, what’d you say to piss him off so bad?” Lance sputters and before he can answer, Walter crosses his arms and leans against the bar.

“He told me what to do. Again. Honestly, he just keeps getting worse about this whole me going on missions thing and I just don’t get it.” Lance ignores the two and if anyone noticed him pour his drink into a larger glass then usual, they never mentioned it.


	2. Big Sis Marcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The flock face an interesting problem at the hotel and Marcy inadvertently becomes the big sister Walter never knew he needed. Lance dies a little inside because, you know, Walter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a sec mostly cause I know nothing about fashion but just had to add detail to the clothes and then procrastinated. My bad! But anyway, lemme know if the pacing seems weird cause I never know how long to make chapters and stuff like that. Comments appreciated! And enjoy!

It is eleven in the morning when their plane finally lands and to say they are tired is an understatement. Staying up for two days really wasn’t the best idea but they were on a time crunch and when they finally got to the hotel and got checked in, they faced an interesting problem.

Marcy stands in the doorway to Lance and Walter’s room with a hand over her mouth trying to suppress a laugh, Chip behind her doing the same. Lance is pacing back and forth with the director and hotel manager on the phone and poor Walter can just stand to the side with disbelief on his face. After a few seconds of shock, he turns to them with a questioning look.

“D- did you guys-“

“Get our own rooms?” They grin and hold up their own keycards, both having different room numbers. “Yup. Looks like you two lucked out. All that bed space.” She jokes. This never happens. Ever. And she can’t help but find the joy in the irony presented to them. One bed. There is only one queen sized bed for them to share and this is just priceless. Yeah these two have shared a room before. Heck, there was one mission that had them all sharing a tent. But at least then they had their own sleeping bags. And at least other hotels had two beds. Nope, this time Walter and Lance have one bed to share between the two of them and Lance looks like he’s ready to die when he hangs up the phone. “What’s wrong, buddy?” She asks. “No luck?”

“They are all out of rooms.” He sighs. “Since we decided to book on such short notice on the weekend, there’s nothing we can do unless someone checks out early.” He sits on the bed with a huff before looking up at Walter. “What do you think?” Before he can answer, Chip speaks up with a grin.

“I could trade yah buddy.” Chip suggests, a little too excited. Marcy elbows him in the side. But the option is out there now and Lance has now decided that no, he will not trade with Chip because what kind of a moron would do something so dumb. Leaving Chip with Walter alone in the same bed? NOPE.

“No!” Lance catches himself before freaking out, too much anyway, “uhd- uh. I mean… I am perfectly fine with sharing a bed” he trips over his words before asking his next question carefully. “Walter, what did you wanna do?” Walter tries to hide his nerves and nods.

“Uhm. Yeah th-this should be fine.” He still can’t stop himself from going over any possible options and comes up short. Any way they spin this it would be awkward for any of them to share this room. So he nods, picks up his bag and suitcase, and moves further into the room to start setting up. “Yeah. Everything should be okay.” He smiles nervously at the others. “Uhm- we should all get ready for bed though. We need to be up and ready by six tonight and I know none of us have slept since yesterday, so…” The others nod, Marcy and Chip a little more excitedly then Lance, and within a few minutes, they are sitting alone in silence.

“And… you’re sure you’re okay with this? I know how you get about personal space, so if you want, I can take the chair.” Walter is more than confused now. Personal space? Yeah, he freaks out a little when Lance is a little too close and of course he tries to keep his distance as much as possible to keep from being obvious. Did he go a little overboard with the whole personal space thing? Now that he thinks about it, lately, Lance has been laying off quite a bit. Where he used to give him head noogies or hugs, he’s recently just opted for an awkward high-five or fist bump. Wow he can’t believe he never realized. He shrugs and opens his suitcase for his nightclothes to get ready.

“Yeah I’m sure I’ll be fine. Besides, those chairs are impossible to sleep in. It won’t kill me to sleep in the same bed as you for a night or two. Promise.” He offers a small smile to show he is okay and goes to the bathroom, to use and change. When he comes back out, Lance is already under the covers with his back to Walter. With an awkward shrug, he puts his things away and crawls under the covers too. The first thing he notices, to his great terror, is that Lance sleeps without a shirt. He is most definitely going to die.

Surprisingly, he does not die. He does, however, stay up at least an hour staring at the ceiling and trying to completely ignore the mustled, warm body next to him. At some point, finally, exhaustion takes over and he starts to drift off. He barely notices the arm that moves across his chest or the warm breath at his neck as he finally floats into unconsciousness.

It is his phone that wakes him around five in the afternoon. Without fully opening his eyes, he answers the call, assuming he’s switched to speaker phone so he doesn’t have to lift it. Wow is he comfortable. He cannot remember the last time he slept this well. He shuffles a little closer to the warmth behind himself as he clears his throat to answer.

“Hello?” His voice is quiet, still heavy with sleep. He thinks he feels something around his chest tighten but ignores it as he finally blinks his eyes open.

“Walter, open up. We’ve been knocking on your door for the past- woah.” He narrows his eyes at the screen as he realizes he has not switched to speaker and he is now in a video call with Marcy. With a few more confused blinks he realizes her and Chip both are staring back at him in disbelief. “Woah,” she repeats, “didn’t know you guys were so close.” She snickers. It takes him a slow second to notice the breathing at his ear and- yep that is a whole person spooning him. His eyes go wide and all he can do is freeze as he stares into his phone.

“Oh god.” He squeaks out. “I swear we did not fall asleep like this.” He whispers. Marcy and Chip laugh some more, trying to keep quiet for fear of waking Lance. Trying to change the subject, he asks, “Why did you call? Wha- what’s up?” He rubs his eyes.

“Oh, right. Can you come open the door? We’ve been knocking but you two are apparently very heavy sleepers.” She waggles her eyebrows and all he can do is attempt to hide his red face in his pillow. “Come on, open up. You and I gotta get ready for our date.” He huffs before hanging up and setting his phone on the nightstand. As careful as can be, he lifts Lance’s arm from over himself and turns just that bit redder when he realizes their legs are tangled, too. By the time he has finally detached himself from Lance, he is half way on the floor and is beet red from the embarrassment. He huffs a few more breaths and rights his clothes before walking to the door and opening it, turning on the lights too.

“Nice to see you kept your clothes on.” Marcy remarks as they both step into the room. Before Walter can retort about obviously nothing happened, she is turning on him, arms crossed. “Alright. We’ve got about an hour and I’m sure you know squat about makeup so show me where your stuff is and we can get ready together.” He hasn’t had time to really process anything yet.

“Uh ye-yeah. Right.” His movements are jerky and he is still noticeably tired as he moves over to his things, pulling out a makeup bag and opening his suitcase to pull out his outfit.

“So, first let's see what Lideah got you- wow. You sure you’re up for this? Never pegged you for the skin showing type. You know these will be really short, right?” She lifts the shorts and, what he likes to call, a mini sweater. Honestly, the only thing long about this outfit are his thigh-highs. Walter gulps with a nod. Yes, he knows. He also knows that the look he will be going for requires him to show quite a bit of skin. 

Lance has finally woken up now and sleepily sits up. It takes a few seconds for him to realise there are two extra people in the room. Even longer to realise that he is, in fact, still shirtless. In the next second, a flood of laughter as Marcy and Chip both start cracking jokes about Lance keeping his shirt on. Lance just rolls his eyes before yawning with his arms stretched over his head. Cue Water.exe malfunction here as his mouth goes dry. Walter can’t stop his face from turning red or pull his eyes away from him. Granted, this has happened before, during particularly hard missions when his clothes got destroyed and when he shifted back from the latest animal of the weak. Somehow, he never gets used to it, the way his mustles shift as he moves, or the trail of hair that always pulls his eyes down- his sight is covered by a pair of hands and he can hear Chip from behind.

“Come on, dude. Little Walter here can’t handle it.” He jokes and Walter is choking on his own saliva as he tries to stutter out a complaint. He is three months older than Chip, who is he calling little? He is about to voice his thoughts, when he can see again and now he is just trying to keep from whining about the fact that Lance is now wearing a shirt. He succeeds, thank God, and goes back to pulling what he needs out of his suitcase with a red face while Lance makes his way to the bathroom.

“A-anyway… the sweater, shorts, and stockings are normal. Lideah said there will be an emergency tracker in each piece. Most of my gadgets will be in my jewelry.” He holds up the small box to show off his accessories. “The uh earrings have a microphone in the dangly one and I should be able to hear you guys in the other gem. The choker has the mane tracker embedded in the charm and a panic button under the back. If I’m in a situation where I can’t talk I’ll just press it and it’ll send a signal.” he holds up a black, thin ribbon with a round charm hooked to it. It’s a simple thing, a silver circle with wings etched in in thin white lines. Marcy looks everything over with a nod, moving over to the small purse he hadn’t brought up.

“And what about this?” She holds it up. It’s a small thing, soft pastel yellow with thin green lines all over in the shape of feathers. It looks just big enough to fit a large wallet and would be ideal for the mission but it seems older, a little worn compared to the rest of the items shown. He blushes again, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Actually, that is mine. Like, I brought it from home…” he trailed, hoping he didn’t have to fill in the blanks as to where he got it. It was his mom’s. She had a couple but this was his favorite of hers. He remembers every chance he got when he was little, he would dump the contents of it out and walk around with it as if it were his own, until finally she caved and gave it to him. What a six year old Walter needed with a perse she never knew. Lucky for him it was one of his favorite things to survive the raid on his house last year.

The thought does not stop the melancholy feeling that washes over him as he looks down at the small hand bag now in his own hands. The sound of the bathroom door opening has him looking up. Marcy and Chip both are giving empathetic looks and he wishes they wouldn’t. The last thing he needs is to bring himself down right now. Lance steps back into the room and before Walter can make himself any sadder, he picks up his things and rushes into the bathroom for a quick shower and to get dressed.

Ten minutes later, he is dressed and hiding in the bathroom because dang if he isn’t nervous. Another knock sounds on the door and he can hear Marcy muffled slightly. 

“Come on Walter, I know you are dressed. The shower isn’t going and you’ve stopped moving around. Come out now or I am picking the lock.” He pulls the sleeves down over his hands nervously and bites his lip before letting out a sigh and just going for it. He flips the lock and finally opens the door with closed eyes and a baited breath. After a few silent seconds, he opens one eye, then blinks the other open.

Marcy looks a little shocked, though, a small smile is slowly making its way across her face. Chip is surprisingly silent on the matter but still manages to annoy Lance by elbowing him in the side and letting out a whistle. Meanwhile Lance is pretty sure he’s died, though can’t tell if he’s gone to heaven or hell. After not getting any initial feedback, he gives a small “How do I look?” in hopes he hasn’t messed anything up. 

Marcy, who it seems had gotten ready while he was, steps forward in her black pleated high waisted skirt and netted long sleeve top with a grey tank top underneath. She places a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. “You look great.” She turns to the others, “Doesn’t he, boys?” She pointedly gives them both a look and they start tripping over their words, neither knowing really what to say.

“You look amazing.” Lance finishes. There’s a pause from everyone and Walter just stares at him surprised a little before Marcy’s hand squeezes to get his attention.

“Okay, lets get your makeup situated and I can help you with your earrings.” She pulls him over to the bed and lets him sit before pulling over the chair so she can be across from him. She lays out what she’ll need and pulls him forward to see better as she works. “So, have you done makeup before?” She asks causally, curious as she applies the foundation and blush, careful not to add to much in fear of making him look like a tomato.

“Ah, well, I tried to. A few times…” when she doesn’t reply, he continues, “Had a stupid crush in middle school. Mom found me hiding in the bathroom with bright red lipstick and the darkest eyeliner you can think of.” He laughs softly, “After that she helped when I needed it done. I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. But I like wearing it sometimes, you know?” He focuses his eyes back on Marcy as she pulls her hands away. She smiles and comes back with some eyeshadow and meticulously adds some soft browns and a little green.

“Well, if you ever want to, I can help.” She reaches for the eyeliner, just adding a little in hopes of making those blue eyes seem bigger, more innocent. “But if it helps in the future, my mom always told me less is more. It’s not about covering anything up, just showing off what is already there.” She adds a few freckles before sitting back, admiring her handy work. She nods before picking up a hand mirror to show Walter. 

“Wow.” He turned his head from side to side to see everything and couldn’t keep himself from grinning. He pulled the mirror away to give Marcy a hug. “You are the best.” She hugs him back and pulls away a few seconds after.

“Alright, time for the earrings. It’s good your ears have been pierced. Clip-ons are really easy to lose.” She already has hers in. They are thin dangling chains with small gems on the ends. He assumes hers also have the microphone in one of them. And after she finishes, his ears feeling oddly heavy, she starts on painting his nails using some form of UV polish so it dries faster.

Lance and Chip were both going through some of their own tech off to the side, making sure their own comms work and opened the window to let the pigeons sit on the sill to fit them with their cameras. Lance was mostly trying to stay busy to keep from getting distracted, pointedly not looking back to the two getting ready.

“Alright. Looks like all our little buddies are good to go.” Chip reaches forward and gives Lovey a soft pet on the head before adjusting the small camera around her neck. It is one of their nano cams. Usually they would just send in the mini drones. But this way, if any of the flock see something they don’t, they can take action and warn them. She preens excitedly and flaps her wings a few times.

“And, done.” They hear from behind. They both turn to the other two and are surprised again. Lance’s breath gets caught in his throat and it’s all he can do not to stare. He clears his throat and opts for adjusting his sleeves. There is a tense few seconds before he finally takes a breath, wanting to assure the brunette.

“W-wow Walt. You clean up nice. You. You look good.” He tries. He’s been through those before. Had to go undercover with fellow spies from the agency, men and women alike. He has never been at a loss for words before. Under the makeup, Walter flushes a little and he rubs the back of his neck, suddenly not sure what to do with his hands. Marcy saves them both by clapping her hands together.

“Well, I believe if we leave now, we should get there a little after six. You two will take the van and Walter and I will call a cab.” She takes Walter’s hand and starts for the door.


End file.
